Overwatch Just Added New Streaming Options, Get The Details

Blizzard announced that their official streaming collaboration with Facebook has gone live. The popular game studio now enables you to stream your games with the click of a button, meaning that you can hop into a game of Overwatch and stream it right to your Facebook page... right now.

VG 24/7 did a quick write-up on the features as well as posted up the video guide that does a snappy walkthrough of how the new streaming options work.

The Battle.net client was updated to include the new streaming tool. Once you open the client you'll see a small camera in the upper right hand corner. Simply click the camera and for first-time users it will ask you to connect your Battle.net account to your Facebook account. Once you're signed in you can choose where to save and publicize the streams, as well as the privacy options (so if you only want friends to view it, it's possible to keep it limited to certain circles).

There are webcam and microphone options as well, so if you want to bypass using Twitch and simply want to stream a game like Overwatch and do the sort of things they don't allow you to do on Twitch... you can do that.

The streaming options don't end there, though. Through the gear icon you'll see that you can modify the hotkeys, change the input device for your microphone and even change the size of the webcam video, the position and type of cam to use (assuming you have more than one). You can see how it works with the quick video below.

These streaming options aren't limited to Overwatch, though. As noted in the VG 24/7 article, you can also use these new services with games like StarCraft 2 and World of Warcraft. This opens up all sorts of possibilities with Blizzard's titles, especially when it comes to recording footage for raids, or looking over battle data during PvP matches in StarCraft 2.

Some gamers may not like having to link their Battle.net account to Facebook, especially since some people may fear the implications of what it means for their privacy, but some may prefer this point-and-click method of streaming over the more heavily monitored and heavily moderated streams that they allow on services like Twitch.tv, where bans and certain kinds of streaming regulations are put into place (such as what you can say, what you can wear and how you can feature in a stream).

This new connectivity with Facebook will likely make it easier for people to capture and share content easily and conveniently in games like Overwatch, which relies heavily on community-oriented integration. This will also likely be used frequently for the game's competitive e-sports sector.

Facebook Live for Battle.net games is currently available right now in the Americas, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Europe. According to the VG 24/7 article, additional regions will be added to the service soon.